Shohei Ohtani will speak with the media for the first time since the illegal gambling allegations surrounding the star’s former interpreter that emerged during the team’s trip to South Korea.
The interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired by the Dodgers last week after the allegations were first made public by Ohtani’s legal team. They claim that Mizuhara was involved in the “massive theft” of millions of dollars from Ohtani to pay an illegal bookmaker in Orange County, in a story first reported by the Los Angeles Times.
In the days since, a series of investigations have been launched, including a formal probe from Major League Baseball.
In a previous statement, Ohtani’s attorneys with the firm Berk Brettller LLP said, “In the course of responding to recent media inquiries, we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft and we are turning the matter over to the authorities.”
The United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles is investigating the allegations. They said as of last week that they had no comment on the matter.
Manager Dave Roberts endorsed Ohtani addressing the matter publicly.
“It’s the right thing to do,” he said. “I’m happy he’s going to speak and speak to what he knows and give his thoughts on the whole situation. I think it will give us all a little bit more clarity.”
Ohtani made only a brief appearance in the Dodgers clubhouse before Sunday’s Freeway Series opener against his former team, the Los Angeles Angels. The teams are playing three exhibition games before the Dodgers host St. Louis in their home opener on Thursday.
Ohtani was set to bat second as the designated hitter at Dodger Stadium.
Mizuhara started to work with Ohtani since he joined MLB in 2018, which was long before he joined the Dodgers. Mizuhara was born in Japan and grew up in Southern California.